The birth rate of Hispanic teens in Travis County was more than seven times that of whites. Advocates say a lack of programs and funding to combat the problem of teen pregnancy hurts in Texas. (Ricardo B. Brazziell / American-Statesman)

For years, Texas has struggled with high levels of teenage pregnancy. The state has done little to address a problem that keeps too many young women from finishing high school or earning a college degree.

And it’s not just the young parents who pay a price. The costs to society of teen pregnancies are huge. Children born to young girls are more likely to grow up in poverty, develop health problems, experience failure in school or come into contact with the criminal justice system. Addressing the cumulative effects of teen pregnancies can cost cities and states billions of dollars a year. Exactly how much? Try an estimated $9.4 billion. That’s what teen pregnancies cost U.S. taxpayers in 2010; in Texas alone, it was $1.1 billion.

The good news is that the number of teen pregnancies has reached a historic low across the country, even in Texas. The bad news? The numbers are consistently higher for Hispanic teens.

Folks often believe that Hispanics’ strong religious background and emphasis on family are a significant factor in teen pregnancies. There may be some truth to the claims, but the biggest factors are lack of communication and education.

Unfortunately, Texas puts few resources into preventing teen births — and much less on programs focused on Hispanic youth, as the Austin American-Statesman’s Mary Ann Roser reported Sunday. Of the few organizations that do focus on teen pregnancies, money is not available to support far-reaching campaigns that target Latinos.

Not all hope is lost. Roser’s story also shed light on an Austin nonprofit organization — Con Mi Madre — that has helped teen Latinas steer away from motherhood and instead focus on their educations. Texas should take a few pointers from the organization. The sooner, the better.

Regardless of overall decline in adolescent births, teen pregnancy is still a problem. Slightly more than 38,000 Texas teenagers between the ages of 13 and 19 gave birth in 2013, the most recent year for state data. Nearly two-thirds — 24,518 — were Hispanic.

Thus Texas has one of the nation’s highest Hispanic teen birth rates. Although Texas identifies differences in health status among racial and ethnic groups, teen pregnancy gets far less attention than disparities in rates of cancer, heart disease and diabetes. That’s unfortunate. Research has proven that comprehensive sex education can make a difference.

A 2008 study in the Journal of Adolescent Health found that teens who received comprehensive sex education were 50 percent less likely to become pregnant than those who received abstinence-only education. The study also found that those who received comprehensive sex education were 60 percent less likely to become pregnant than those who received no sex education at all.

But sex education alone may not be the answer. Giving students the tools to make informed decisions — about their bodies, their education and their future — is an important part of the equation.

Con Mi Madre, the Austin organization aimed at improving college-going rates among Hispanic teens, offers a program in which Hispanic mothers are trained to encourage their daughters to plan for college. Learning to effectively communicate with their children is essential to overall success for both mothers and daughters.

“When you give these girls hope for a different future, they don’t have to live the life they see in their neighborhoods,” Con Mi Madre’s Executive Director Teresa Granillo told the Statesman.

About 1,200 to 1,300 mothers and daughters take part in the group’s program each year — and less than 1 percent of the teens get pregnant, Granillo said.

Sadly, the messages about preventing teen pregnancy are interpreted as anti-child, anti-family and anti-baby, experts say.

The message, as well as sex education curriculum, should change; perhaps both should focus on opportunities lost.

Yes, sex education should explain how a child is conceived and shed light on what the real responsibilities are of a parent. But it should also help young adults think beyond what they see in their immediate surroundings — college, travel and careers — to help them imagine a future where children come into their lives later. More importantly, a course on self-esteem, body image and self-empowerment should be something educators and lawmakers readily stand behind.

“Not having opportunities, not seeing a good future for yourself” are among the factors that influence teen pregnancy rates, Dr. Celia Neavel, director of the Center for Adolescent Health at People’s Community Clinic, told Roser. “If you don’t have role models who graduate from high school and go to college … that certainly can play a role.”

Those conversations should start at home, but if they don’t, students all over Texas should be able to know opportunities await them beyond being a teen parent.

“The best contraceptive is opportunity,” Neavel said. “If you think you are going somewhere, you are going to be much more careful.”

I couldn’t agree more.

— Gissela SantaCruz

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